Home › Forums › WSB Reader Recommendations › Is the economy affecting you? Subtle/grand changes?
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October 5, 2008 at 3:48 pm #588273
angelescrestParticipantThought it would be interesting to discuss.
October 5, 2008 at 5:03 pm #642371
JimmyGMemberSo far (knock on wood) we haven’t had to change any of our habits.
We have lived well below our means for years, and don’t carry any debt beyond a mortgage.
October 5, 2008 at 6:18 pm #642372
datamuseParticipantPersonally, no. (I mean, my investments are down but I wasn’t planning on drawing from them for another 20 years anyway, so I’m just going to ride it out.)
However, my employer is one of the universities affected by the Wachovia issue–though, it must be said, not terribly much.
October 6, 2008 at 12:35 am #642373
RainyDay1235MemberMy company had to bail on its plans to move into a brand new building – because clients lowered their forecasts. We’d already met with Architects and picked out the furniture and everything. Now, we are stuck in our sardine can existence for another 2 years. So yeah, it sucks…
October 6, 2008 at 12:52 am #642374
KenParticipantFor those of you who are not aware of how you have already been touched by conservative financial policy. (Also note the planned path for those who think “privatizing SS” is a good idea.)
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/5/1851/21840/455/618900
October 6, 2008 at 1:04 am #642375
JanSParticipantI’m a massage therapist, a “service industry”, also a healthcare industry. I find that the cash clients aren’t coming as often. I’m an insurance preferred provider for most health insurances, so those clients still come, since it’s paid for and only a little out of pocket. So, while I’ve never gotten rich doing what I do, I will have to be extra careful with what my outgo is.
One thing I have learned in the last few years, through cancer, chemo, 2 hip surgeries, and a myriad of weeks off without pay…there is a big, big difference between “want” and “need”…and those “wants” need to go one the back burner. You learn exactly what you can live without.
October 6, 2008 at 1:10 am #642376
JanSParticipantKen…great article…thanks
October 7, 2008 at 1:09 am #642377
JanSParticipantOctober 7, 2008 at 1:10 am #642378
JanSParticipantOctober 7, 2008 at 2:46 am #642379
ZenguyParticipantWell, I work for WaMu. Yes, my life will be changing lots. Today I found out I am a transitional employee, so I will get a retention bonus on top of severance if I stay and I probably will as the bonus will be six to ten months pay.
I am so angry that our company is in this position largely due to the news media. One day we were in trouble, but could probably work through our issues with a little time and then 17 billion dollars fly out the door because the news media declares we are in trouble.
October 7, 2008 at 2:51 am #642380
beachdrivegirlParticipantZenguy,
I am so sorry to hear about that for you. I 100% agree with your analysis though. IMO, as we begin to toughen our regulations on the financial world, I think we need to also tighten the security measures to keep more of the financial news away from the media. I think that we are much worse off today because of the panic the media sets off than the actual “crisis” that is in our economy.
Now to answer the question. Personally my life is not changing to much. However, like others I am having to work harder now. I work in outside sales selling office equipment. Our lease rates our horrendous now compared to what they were five even six months ago. (And yes 90% of our business is in leases. People just don’t pay cash for office equipment that will be outdated in one to three years.) Furthermore, it is tougher to get some current customers approved. Therefore, all of us in our office have had to step it up a notch and work harder.
October 7, 2008 at 3:21 am #642381
angelescrestParticipantI can say that four of my immediate neighbors have been affected: three lay-offs and one diminished work. Wow…in one little section of one block. I know that like JanS says, it is now NEEDS vs. WANTS for us. And, it does seem like food prices have crept up so much, though organic adds to the price.
October 7, 2008 at 3:31 am #642382
TheHouseMemberZenguy, I actually envy you. Just think when you’ll ever be able to take a 10 month vacation and do whatever you want? Even if you just took the first 2-3 months off to spend with family & friends, it would be refreshing to me.
You still would have 7-8 months to find another job. You don’t get that opportunity everyday and most people don’t get 10 months severance.
Carpe Diem and enjoy your time off.
Screw WaMu. If you think for a second that they had loyalty to you, you’re kidding yourself.
October 7, 2008 at 3:36 am #642383
ZenguyParticipantThe House, I was already surfing options to backpack Europe.
October 7, 2008 at 3:47 am #642384
angelescrestParticipantZen,
Oh, ick about your job. I sympathize.
The travel would be an amazing opportunity IF one didn’t have to worry about mortgage and car payments, childcare, health insurance. All those sucky accouterments (That can be part)of middle-class (?) life. OR finding a job after a nice, long break. A very talented journalist we know is off to India for two years, but his kids are grown, house was sold, he’s been divorced for years.
October 7, 2008 at 4:53 pm #642385
datamuseParticipantIMO, as we begin to toughen our regulations on the financial world, I think we need to also tighten the security measures to keep more of the financial news away from the media.
I could not disagree more. Though the media suffers from “if it bleeds, it leads” (no less true when what’s being bled is money) and always has, frankly as both an investor and a worker, I damn well do want to know what’s going on.
The media aren’t to blame for the events of the past month. It’s been clear to me for at least a year that something like this was going to happen, and the seeds were planted long before that.
Right now, the SEC requires publicly traded companies to disclose certain information, to their shareholders and to the public. Are you seriously suggesting that this requirement should be repealed? I think even the SEC disagrees, though considering how much criticism it’s received lately I suppose it could hardly do anything other than what it’s doing right now.
I think that we are much worse off today because of the panic the media sets off than the actual “crisis” that is in our economy.
That may well be true. A lot of business reporting conveys the impression that the stock market is the best and maybe the only important indicator of economic health. It isn’t. It’s just one, and not really the most reliable one. What it does indicate is how people are feeling about the economy; at this point, it’s safe to conclude that people are worried. But we knew that.
I’m sorry that WaMu employees are being so adversely affected by recent events. Zenguy, I hope everything works out well for you.
October 7, 2008 at 5:29 pm #642386
TraciMemberIt’s affected me and MANY of my friends. I just graduated from college around a year ago, and there are less *relevant* jobs right now. We keep talking about how it “goes up and down”, but it’s disheartening.
A lot of us are ed majors and what we’re finding is that districts are shuffling around employees more than usual and cutting/altering some programs when teachers leave. For example, I”m an art teacher (not easy to get a job to begin with…) and what I’ve seen are .1 and .2 positions open all over the place. That’s one period a day. Boo!
However, I don’t like to complain too much about it. Right now it is what it is. My heart goes out to people with families.
October 7, 2008 at 5:35 pm #642387
beachdrivegirlParticipantI am not saying that they SEC should not have to disclose certain information; however, I think some of this informations should not be being reported on by teh mainstream media. I think the mainstream media misrepresents many facts and manytimes twists them to create a story. This is how come we end up in the “panic” situation where everyoen is pulling their money out of banks.
October 7, 2008 at 6:45 pm #642388
SueParticipantI work for lawyers that primarily service banks and lending companies. So I definitely see how it’s affecting our clients – many companies that are dissolving, banks that are foreclosing on customers every other day, banks dealing with the ramifications of the subprime loans, etc. The stress levels in the office are definitely higher, wondering what’s going to happen next. Corporate law seems to do well no matter the ecomomy – we’re either helping people merge and grow, or we’re helping them bail themselves out of problems – so I don’t think my job is in jeopardy. At least I hope not. :) We’ve been in a “living below our means” mode for a while now and just continuing that way. We are planning on replacing an old car shortly and are wondering what the loan situation will be like, or how car prices and/or interest rates may be affected by the economy.
October 7, 2008 at 7:49 pm #642389
MissKMemberWOW!! Just read that retirement accounts have lost 2 TRILLION dollars in this whole mess.Looks like I will be working until I am 80. (sigh) I think people will start to say “Remember when people used to retire?”
October 7, 2008 at 9:57 pm #642390
datamuseParticipantTraci, that sucks. I work in higher ed and know quite a few “freeway flyers”–adjuncts or visiting profs who have to work at multiple institutions to make ends meet. In K-12, a friend of mine finally got a job with the Bellevue school district after trying for over a year. It’s tough going out there.
And beachdrivegirl, the idea that something shouldn’t be reported because it might worry people disturbs me on such a profound level that I’m not even sure how to respond to it. What’s more, most of the panic-mongering I’m seeing is coming from non-mainstream sources. How to deal with them, in the scenario you propose?
October 7, 2008 at 10:33 pm #642391
JoBParticipantlets just say that early retirement was out of the question before we lost 25-30% of our retirement funds.
retirement is out of the question now.
October 7, 2008 at 10:35 pm #642392
TraciMemberMy dad told me a couple days ago that as of these last few months, he’s lost over a hundred thousand dollars….
JoB, that’s so sad to hear. Hopefully it works out so that you have something in the middle or those two.
October 7, 2008 at 11:05 pm #642393
JoBParticipantUnfortunately we saw this coming.
Just as unfortunately, the money was in retirement accounts and there was nothing we could do about it.
We will all be in the same boat traci… i can only hope it is a boat that is still floating.
October 8, 2008 at 6:11 am #642394
JanSParticipantDamn…401K’s are now 201k’s, huh…
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